After the Battle
by Raberba girl
Summary: Luckily for everyone, Xehanort is finally dead. Now they can get on with their lives. Series of post-canon one-shots; no slash.
1. Theme 3: Chain (Belle)

After the Battle

A Kingdom Hearts fanfic series by Raberba girl

Summary: Luckily for everyone, Xehanort is finally dead. Now they can get on with their lives. Series of post-canon one-shots; no slash.

Introduction: I decided to take on Xaina's 50 Lives Challenge to show what fifty KH/Disney/FF characters are doing after the final battle with Xehanort.

Then I realized that it would also be a good series for _any_ post-canon fics that don't fit anywhere else, such as stories that take place in the same basic universe as BbF&ML but focus on characters other than AkuSaiRokuShi (VenVan, Sora, Naminé, Riku, Olette, etc.). So yeah...these will all be post-canon stories, but only some for Xainagal's challenge, and not all of them will fit on the same timeline (for example, some stories might have Cinderella ending up with Terra, others might pair her with Charming).

By the way, there _will_ be lots of pairings in this series. Canon, crack, platonic, (_usually_ light) romance, occasional musical chairs because I don't like tying down some characters to the same pairing all the time... No slash romance, though; you guys know me.

**50 Lives Challenge**** by Xainagal, written by Raberba girl**

**Theme 3: Chain (Belle) [rough draft]**

Summary: Prince Adam gives Belle a gift.

o.o.o

It's his eyes that reassure me, and his voice. Whenever I look at this handsome stranger and feel uneasy, I remind myself that his eyes are still the exact same, and I ask him a question so that he'll have to speak to answer. His voice has lost that gruff, animal-like timbre, but the richness is still the same, the inflection...I can still hear him, my beloved Beast within the stranger-prince.

The occasional childishness is the same, too, though it's softened over all this time so that I sometimes find it endearing rather than exasperating. Like now, as he fidgets nervously and looks cute doing so. "Belle..."

"What is it, Adam?"

He always smiles when I say his name, and it lights up his face as if it's reflecting his heart. That, too, is how I know he's still the man I fell in love with, and not a stranger after all. "Belle, I...I have something for you."

"_Another_ library?" I tease, and his eyes widen.

"I- Er- I can order some more books, if you like-"

"Darling, it's a joke."

He flushes, half ashamed and angry at being tricked, but also half-pleased at the term of endearment. "There's more books in the library than you can even read in a lifetime, anyway..."

"What is it you have for me, dear?"

He looks down, uncertain now. I shouldn't have teased him, he hasn't learned how to respond to it yet. "Something...small..."

"Like a peppermint?"

"What? No! That's not a gift, that's a, a breath freshener."

"Ooooh, so it's more expensive than candy?" No, I shouldn't say that, then he'll think I won't be interested in little gifts that cost nothing. I only meant to reset the standard and make him feel more at ease...

He doesn't even notice, though. Wealth is like breath to him, something always available to be taken for granted. "Of course. Ahem. Turn around."

I smile curiously and turn my back to him. After a moment, he reaches over my head, and I catch a glimpse of a lovely gold necklace before the pendant comes to rest against my skin. I can't see it anymore as it's pulled taut - he's trying to fasten the chain.

He struggles with it for a little while, but eventually manages to get it clasped, and the pendant drops low enough for me to see it again. I lift it with gentle fingers and turn back around so he can see me smiling at it. "It's beautiful, Adam."

"I wasn't sure what to choose...Lumiere and Mrs. Potts helped," he mumbles.

"All three of you have good taste," I say, kissing his cheek.

He smiles, despite himself, then reaches around my waist to hold me close and rest his face against my hair. I close my eyes and breathe him in, his strong wild scent still detectable beneath the obligatory perfume.

"I still can't get over it," he murmurs.

"Hmm?"

"Having fingers again..."

I catch my breath as I remember that not so long ago, he would never have been able to get that piece of jewelry fastened around my neck. I take both of his beautiful human hands in mine and kiss them. "There are some things that I miss about my ferocious Beast, but this is not one of them."

"There are other things I can do with hands like these," he says, in the sort of tone that makes me shiver in delicious anticipation. Then he suddenly exclaims, "Wait, _what_ is it that you miss about me being a beast?!" and I laugh.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: What is it with me and adorably clueless characters...? Even with charas I've never written before, as long as they've got a trait like that _somewhere_, it's like I automatically zero in on it and suddenly they're fun to write. XD

I have five more of these stories drafted, but I should probably wait a few days to post them, huh. :/ You guys are probably sick of having updates popping up in your inboxes every few hours...

Complete: 1/50


	2. Theme 1: 3 Wishes (Genie)

_**After the Battle**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: ****50 Lives Challenge**** by Xainagal, written by Raberba girl**

**Theme 1: 3 Wishes (Genie) [rough draft]**

Summary: What does a genie give his best friend as a wedding gift...?

o.o.o

Okay I _know_ I'm a free genie now and I don't owe anybody _any_ wishes, EVER AGAIN, but...it's Al! Al, Laddie, Al a Din, my best friend, the first master who almost didn't feel like a master, treating me like I was worth being respected...OH, not to mention, _first guy ever_ who even THOUGHT about asking me what I wanted. Asking my opinion on ANYTHING. Promised me freedom without a second's hesitation and then actually _delivered_ - well, okay, after being a jerk about it; but the point is that IN THE END - he came through for me. He really did. And I'll never forget that, not in a million years (literally). So...

They're staring at me all wide-eyed and cute in their wedding getup. "Genie...really?" Al says, looking awed.

"Abso-posi-LUTELY! Three wishes, for old times' sake, _my_ wedding gift to YOU! No substitutions, exchanges, or refunds! Oh, and of _course_ the ruuuuules are still in effect: can't kill anyone, can't make anyone fall in love with anyone else (not that you two need help with _that_ anymore, L-O-L!), can't bring anyone back from the dead 'cuz it's _not_ a pretty picture and I DON'T LIKE DOING IT-"

Only Jaz could make me speechless, grabbing me by the beard like that so she can hold my cheek still long enough to kiss it. "Ohhh, Genie, thank you so much," she says in her sweet desert princess way that I _think_ is more flirty than she knows.

"Heh heh..._ahem_, well, SO, how're we gonna divvy this up, huh?"

Al and Jaz, realizing they now have to split three wishes between two people, burst into laughter and decide pretty quickly.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: I'm definitely not happy with this one, but the rest of them are better.

Complete: 2/50


	3. Theme 2: Infection (Aurora)

_**After the Battle**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: ****50 Lives Challenge**** by Xainagal, written by Raberba girl**

**Theme 2: Infection (Aurora) [rough draft]**

Summary: A kiss isn't gonna work this time, Aurora.

o.o.o

"Oh, Aunt Flora, I'm so glad you've come," I say anxiously, hugging my fairy godmothers as they flit over to meet me. "I tried kissing him, but it didn't work. He still won't wake up, and he looks so terrible, very pale and sweaty, and I've been so worried..."

"Come, dear, let's take a look at him," Aunt Fauna says soothingly, putting her arm around my shoulders as we hurry to the chamber where poor Phillip lies asleep.

Aunt Merryweather goes to him at once, laying her palm on his forehead and closing her eyes for a moment. She finally smiles a little and looks at me again. "Don't worry, Rose, it's not an evil spell or anything of the sort. He just has a little viral infection, that's all."

"A...a what?"

"Move aside, dear," Aunt Flora says impatiently, pushing Aunt Merryweather over. "We've got to bring his fever down at once."

"I know perfectly well how to do that," Aunt Merryweather protests, pouting a little.

"I'll make some soup~" Aunt Fauna announces, immediately heading for the door and looking delighted to have someone to take care of again.

"He will get better, won't he?" I ask, trying not to sound upset.

"Of course, dear, of course! Don't fret. Run along now and fetch some ice from the kitchen, please."

"Ice? But it's summer!"

"Oooh, sometimes I forget they're only human," Aunt Flora grumbles.

It can be difficult to tell what they're talking about at times...

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Hmmm, maybe this is the middle of the night and Rose was the first person to realize that he's sick...? And I think that's more Merlin's thing, not the Good Fairies', to miss modern technology in medieval times. ^^; *failfic DX*

Complete: 3/50


	4. Theme 5: Fault (Cinderella)

_**After the Battle**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: ****50 Lives Challenge**** by Xainagal, written by Raberba girl**

**Theme 5: Fault (Cinderella) [rough draft]**

Summary: And while we're at it, we can blame her for breathing, too.

o.o.o

Stepmother is the one standing in shame before the dais, and I am the one dressed like a princess, with the king himself and the king's son and their people surrounding me. Yet something in my heart still quivers when I see her eyes flashing with rage.

"You...insolent, ungrateful girl - this is all your fault! If you hadn't been rebellious and disobedient, it would be _my_ daughter on that throne! You've stolen my children's future!"

How can she say such a thing? How? After everything, everything she's done to me...?

My supporters begin to berate her, but I speak before they can get through the first sentence, and they fall quiet. "You blame your misfortunes on me, Stepmother?"

"Of course! If you had known your place-"

"I suppose you also blame Father for dying, and so depriving you of the full amount of income you expected. Perhaps you blame the servants who were dismissed afterward, for no longer being there to maintain the estate. Or Lucifer for failing to hunt, so that my friends were able to help me in my time of need. Or the prince for choosing me over one of your daughters.

"Yet the one person you would never, ever blame, Stepmother, is the person who _did_ mismanage Father's affairs until we became too poor to pay the servants; who raised her daughters to be so ill-natured as to turn away any man, much less one who had his pick of any eligible lady in the kingdom-"

I can tell from her face that she does not hear a word I'm saying, that I might as well be deaf and dumb to her. I will forever be her enemy, and nothing I do or say can change that. "Don't speak nonsense, wretched child! I-"

"_I_ think we've heard quite enough," the king says harshly. "Take her away, and don't let her within shouting distance of the castle ever again."

"Unhand me at once, you brutes!" Stepmother cries in outrage, but the guards take no notice as they continue to escort her away.

As soon as she is gone, I release a breath I did not realize I was holding, feeling shaky and triumphant and sad all at once.

"Cinderella," the prince says softly, taking gentle hold of my arm as if to steady me, "I didn't know. If I'd known, I wouldn't have-"

"Please, it's all right. I don't think she'll trouble me again..."

Although it doesn't seem proper to do such a thing where so many people are watching, he tilts up my face to meet his and kisses me. The king simply watches with a pleased smile, and I find that I don't mind, either.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: I'm definitely a Terrella shipper, but Charmella seemed to work better for this one. ^^;

Complete: 4/50


	5. Theme 36: Sing (Jasmine)

_**After the Battle**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: ****50 Lives Challenge**** by Xainagal, written by Raberba girl**

**Theme 36: Sing (Jasmine) [rough draft]  
**

Summary: There's only one person who could make Jasmine wistfully consider polygamy.

o.o.o

I like having friends. Aladdin tends to get drawn into many adventures, and sometimes he forgets to take me along, so it's nice when I have more people than just Rajah to help pass the time with until my husband returns.

The two of us are enjoying some tea in my private garden. Well, _I'm_ enjoying it. Saïx - Isa - is sipping from his cup politely, but I don't think that he is overly fond of tea.

Rajah is jealous and has both his head and front paws across my lap, and is quite heavy...I don't have the heart to move him, though. That's the one downside to having other friends, is that my very first one now feels neglected sometimes.

"I did not say I couldn't sing well," Isa grumbles. "I simply meant that singing is not something I will do before an audience."

"Isa, there's no one here except me, you, and Rajah." And whatever guards and servants are lurking around, ready at a moment's notice to protect me or wait on me, but I think it's better not to mention them.

"Two too many, then."

"You're just making excuses because you really _can't_ sing, but you want me to _think_ you can without actually having the..." I can't actually say it because of the censors, but he knows what I mean. "...you don't have the guts to prove it."

"Insulting my manhood is not going to get you what you want, since I have no reason to impress you."

I sing the introduction to Giselle's Happy Working Song, and several small animals answer the summons. Isa edges away from them in distaste, and Rajah growls at them possessively. "It's so _easy_, Isa," I try. _"You're the fairest man I've ever met, you were made..."_

I pause invitingly, but he only gives me one of his you-are-sadly-mistaken-if-you-think-I'll-cooperate looks.

"Why _not_, Isa?"

"Because all you sparkling heroines seem to be disturbingly prone to thinking that any handsome young man who'll sing a duet with you is your soulmate. I hope I don't have to remind you that you are already married to someone else, not to mention that you are nearly ten years younger than me and would still be considered a minor in my homeworld."

Some of my past suitors had been almost old enough to be my grandfathers... I would have been relieved enough to end up with a man still in his twenties. The fact that Aladdin is so close to my own age just makes him that much more perfect. "It's not automatic. It just seems that way because most of us find the first handsome young man we meet to be perfect for us. _You_, if you recall, were actually the first handsome man I ever laid eyes on, and I ended up deciding that my true love was someone else, didn't I?"

"I wish you wouldn't keep up that 'handsome' talk," he sighs, as if I only say it to annoy him. If he'd just allow me, or any of us, to fix that shaggy mess of _hair_, he'd be quite stunning.

"Yes, you're just _so_ ugly, Isa, with that well-featured face of yours, those captivating green eyes, all the nicely-sculpted muscles from your years as a fearless warrior - I don't know _how_ I can stand to look at you." He is so cute when he glares. And he wonders why we think it's so fun to tease him. _"Little bread-and-butterflies kiss the tulips, and the sun is like a toy balloon,"_ I sing, as off-key as I can. It is quite difficult, and doesn't sound as bad as I'd hoped, but it's enough for him to wince and have trouble swallowing the mouthful of tea he'd just sipped.

"Ahem...princess, please stop that."

I smile and 'sing' louder. _"There are get-up-in-the-morning glories in the golden afternoon~"_

He closes his eyes in a silent groan, then finally joins in, softly at first but rising a little in volume as I stop torturing him. _"There are dizzy daffodils on the hillside, strings of violets are all in tune. Tiger lilies love the dandy lions in the golden afternoon-"_

_"The golden afternoon,"_ I sing, properly this time.

We continue the song together. Though he has his eyes closed with a resigned expression on his face, I can't take my own eyes off of him. He _does_ sing beautifully...and there's just something so- I can't describe it...something so lovely about singing together with someone in perfect harmony...

_"There's a wealth of happiness and romance in the golden afternoon,"_ we finish.

In the silence, he opens his eyes again, and we gaze at each other for a while.

"...Stop looking at me like that," he finally says uncomfortably.

"Sometimes, Isa, I wish I were a man," I murmur. And that they were women, so that Aladdin could be my beloved First Wife, and Isa could be my dear concubine who can do what he likes when I don't feel like playing with him. Isa looks so amusingly disgusted as he imagines a male version of me that I burst into laughter and don't bother to clarify.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: The song is "All in the Golden Afternoon" from Disney's _Alice in Wonderland_.

My opinions concerning a few things in this drabble are so complicated that it'll take too long to explain them fully... Specifically: age gaps, arranged marriages, polygamy, and SaiJaz(Al).

To sum it up very briefly, in a way that probably doesn't explain anything: I'm a devout Christian, I have a lot of negative personal family history concerning Middle Eastern culture, my opinions on certain topics will vary depending on the circumstances (ultimately, NO ONE SHOULD GET HURT), I like experimenting with tropes and making more positive interpretations of things that really bother me, both AlJaz and SaiJaz are among my top favorite pairings ever, Isa/Saix is my token asexual in the Kingdom Hearts fandom, I adore platonic love, and I hate the thought of my work coming across as racist, because that was never my intention.

This drabble was _meant_ to be cute and sweet, and I like it. I didn't mean to end on a downer; sorry. :/

There's still one more drabble I have ready, but it's really late and I need to sleep. ^^;

Complete: 5/50


	6. Theme 49: No Way Out (Tinker Bell)

_**After the Battle**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: ****50 Lives Challenge**** by Xainagal, written by Raberba girl**

**Theme 49: No Way Out (Tinker Bell) [rough draft]**

Summary: Unrequited love can be difficult...

**A/N: Warning for language, though the word actually appears in the original **_**Peter Pan**_** novel.**

o.o.o

Trapped, stuck in the drawer, no way out, shoving and shoving and shoving can't get out PETER HELP ME

"Aw, geez, Tink, whatcha playin' at?"

Yanking open the drawer with those big giant hands of his like it's soooo easy, jerk!

But as soon as I see his face, anger melts to love, love love love, I love him so very much. I fly up to his face and give him a kiss. A 'thimble,' he thinks they're called, no thanks to that great stupid Girl.

"Heheh, enough, Tink, that tickles. Come on! Let's go back home and tell the boys how 'Aladdin and the King of Thieves' ended."

Not as stupid a story as usual - no clumsy wretched girls, just brave handsome men. Like my Peter. Except he's not a man, will never be, but it doesn't matter because he's already perfect. Perfect in every way except he'll never love me the way I love him.

_"I love you,"_ I tell him.

"Love ya, too, Tink," he says, so carelessly that it nearly breaks my heart. He's just a child. Huge as a mountain to me, but a child all the same.

_"You silly ass."_

"If anyone is, it's you."

_"No, you."_

"You!"

_"You!"_

A child forever, but Peter Pan is Peter Pan - youth, joy, a little bird that has broken out of the egg, a warrior forever at play who has no use for the warmth of a lover. It hurts my heart sometimes, but I don't care, because I wouldn't love him if he was anything else.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: I've been re-reading/watching a lot of Peter Pan stuff lately. I'm gonna blog about it once I finish _The Little White Bird_ and re-watch _Hook_ (one of my favorite movies), but I might ramble a bit now, since I'm posting this drabble...

Disney actually did a pretty good job, but that 2003 live action film..._ugh_. I actually did love it the first time I saw it, but the second time was a bit of a disappointment, and the third time I saw it for my recent Peter Pan binge, I got so angry, and I honestly don't think I will ever be able to sit through the whole thing again. They _wrecked_ it. They took a story that's meant to glorify childhood (while also fully recognizing its dark side), a character who sacrifices half his life experience in order to prolong and enhance the other half, and turned it into a creepy romance with sexual undertones. It just..._gah_.

Anyway, my basic vision of _Peter Pan_ in a Kingdom Hearts context is a mix of the original novel and the Disney adaptation, since I think the two complement each other in most ways (with the Lost Boys being the biggest exception I can think of). Like Sora, Peter Pan somehow gets away with being a huge Gary Stu, yet unlike Sora, he is quite a selfish creature, so I have no idea how he does it. Neverland practically revolves around him, he excels at everything that matters in his world, and almost every female he meets falls in unrequited love with him. Sometimes it's platonic or love/hate (Mrs. Darling, the Never bird), sometimes it's romantic (Tinker Bell, Tiger Lily), sometimes it's debatable (Wendy, the mermaids). (And sometimes it's just hate, maybe with a bit of despairing admiration [Captain Hook]. XD) Nevertheless, the point is that Peter attracts virtually every sentient creature in some way, but at the same time, he doesn't really _need_ anyone and he doesn't get overly attached to anyone - the whole world and life in general is literally all a game to him.

Anyway...I keep trying to say too much that actually has nothing to do with this drabble... I forgot what my point was. Basically, Peter Pan, as long as he's a child living in Neverland, will never fall in love, and he _likes_ it that way. He _chose_ that. I hate it when people talk as if you're somehow 'incomplete' unless you've found your 'true love' and are living 'happily ever after,' or are at least trying to do so. -.- As Ole Golly says in _Harriet the Spy_, "There are as many ways to live in this world as there are people in this world," and people's choices aren't necessarily wrong just because they're not the same things you would have chosen.

Way too much rambling for such a tiny drabble, but I adore J.M. Barrie's _Peter Pan_, and this subject is important to me, and I haven't gotten a chance to journal about it yet...

Complete: 6/50


	7. Call Out To My Light

Call Out To My Light

(rough draft)

A Kingdom Hearts fanfic by Raberba girl

Summary: It's difficult - it might always be difficult. But there's always hope, too, and Ventus won't give up as long as there's love to sustain him.

A/N: ...There's a list of activities in the second paragraph that I removed one of the items from, because I didn't want to have to give this fic an M rating just because of two words. *sweatdrop* Vanitaaaaas, y u so crude? DX I like Tali's clueless Vani better than the perv-Van my headcanon seems to have been afflicted with...

**Takes place post-KH3; Ven & Vanitas have become a whole person again (he has the body of an adult in his mid-twenties, but the mental/emotional development of an older teenager, due to his long sleep; Aqua and Terra have also physically aged at the same rate). Makes more sense if you've read **_**Before Sora**_**.**

o.o.o

He kind of liked Dwarf Woodlands best...

There was a part of him that _delighted_ in the flower meadow, enough to where he'd sometimes hurl himself full-length on the ground and roll like crazy over the soft grass, pausing to inhale the sharply sweet scent of crushed blossoms. He'd never tell a _soul_ about this, not even Snow White. While he trusted her to keep respecting him, he certainly did _not_ trust her sense of discretion.

So meadow-rolling was definitely a solitary activity, and what he was often doing when everyone else had wrongly assumed he'd gone off to sulk, or steal ice cream, or angst, or tease children, or visit Chocolate, or whatever it was they thought he was doing when he went off by himself. (Well, sometimes he _was_ actually doing some of those things, but that wasn't the point.) He liked beauty. A part of him always had, he just wasn't good at expressing it.

The meadow was a perfect place to train if he wanted, or fly, or just lie on the grass and look up at the clouds and visualize his friends' faces or Unversed shapes in them, whichever he was in the mood for. He could enjoy his solitude, interrupted only by the animals when they sensed he was in higher spirits. Deer would come and lick maternally at his forehead before settling down nearby to rest; rabbits would hop over and take naps on his stomach; chipmunks would play games in the flared fabric of his pants near the ankles; birds would peck with interest at the shiny munny orbs he tossed at them; butterflies would come and alight on his nose before he shooed them away. He didn't mind the animals. They steered clear when they could tell they would annoy him.

Another part of him sought the woods, conveniently right next door. The thick cluster of sinisterly-twisted trees was dark enough to soothe and comfort and hide him when he needed to hide. No light to expose him, no 'caring' friends to nag at him and make him feel bad 'for his own good.' At the times when he hated everything, it was a relief to come here and scream into the shadows, to send Light bursting through his Keyblade like a beacon, attracting Heartless until the strongest ones finally showed up and he could start bashing away, beating all the rage and pain into something that wasn't his own heart and blood, something that didn't hurt to strike.

And this way, at least he was doing some good and they wouldn't all look at him with those horrible _disappointed_ faces when he got back, faces that made him feel like they were pinning him down and stabbing him. This way, he could feel like a bad guy but still be a good guy and get them off his case. Win-Win.

Dwarf Woodlands was the best.

Today was a Forest Day. Ventus was hurling himself between the trees with glee, driving his Keyblade again and again into one shadowy body after another. He liked that most Heartless would charge to attack, it made them more fun to crush.

Smashing darkness into oblivion, whirling to the next and the next and the next without bothering to watch their freed hearts drifting away, it wasn't light he was interested in right now, it was darkness. Sometimes a stronger one would manage to get in a hit and send him reeling back, then he'd surge into a counter with heightened glee and tear into it. He didn't bother with Shotlocks or Commands; too easy, waste of time. He just wanted to hit, and hit and hit, until his HP level started screaming at him and his limbs started to ache and he got tired enough to want to stop. Unfettered violence, that's what he wanted, _needed_, channeling into the only targets remaining for him. "DIE!"

If she hadn't been wearing white, he might have hit her on accident. She was smart enough to collapse the instant he whirled close, dropping to the ground too low for him to easily lash out at her. He managed to divert the force of his instinctive blow to the tree behind her, and it burst apart in an explosion of wood, leaving a jagged stump behind.

He allowed his weapon to fly out of his grasp and take out the final Heartless with a Treasure Raid, then he dropped to his knees beside the girl, seizing her head near the neck and jerking her close. Fury was surging through him, battle rage that was now turning to frustration at being interrupted. "Are you _stupid_?" he hissed in her face. "Do you _wanna die_?"

Her eyes were huge, blue, so much like Xion's that his pounding heart began to slow a little and his grip loosened slightly. She barely moved, motionless as a terrified rabbit in his hands, though her voice was fairly steady when she licked her lips and whispered, "I'm...not very good...at corridors...I'm sorry."

Corridors? Only the Organization- _Who_? Blonde hair, Xion's eyes, no, clone eyes just like Sora's and Roxas's and- Ah.

"What are you _doing_ here?" Ventus shouted, forcefully releasing her and scrambling back to his feet.

Naminé, too, stood up, though more slowly and shakily. "I'm _sorry_...I honestly didn't mean to. I just wanted to visit the dwarfs...I told you, I'm _terrible_ at corridors. I missed the clearing. I'm sorry."

Ventus swallowed tightly, then deliberately swallowed again, trying to reorient himself. _'Can't be Vanitas anymore. Playtime's over. Who am I, again?'_ "You're...Naminé?"

"I'm sorry for interrupting you," she said quickly.

"Shut up!" he yelled, hating the feeling of being apologized to. Then he thrust his hands over his face to cover his eyes, and opened his mouth in a silent scream. _'I hate this! I _hate_ this! Just leave me alone! That's why I come here, so I _don't have to be_ with you people!'_

He swallowed again, trying to stop shaking. _'I'm Ven. I'm Ven. Everyone loves Ven. Because he's so _sickeningly_ sweet...ice cream, candy, sweet gelatin ooze sliding over everything, getting it all sticky and gross and gaaah. Be ice cream, Ven.'_ He lowered his hands from his face and smiled. It was hard, and he thought for a second that he must look like a wolf baring its teeth, but his mouth and face quickly remembered the gesture and softened into what he knew had been something close to Ven's smile.

_'I'm Ven,'_ he thought again, more self-assured this time. _'I love this girl. I don't care who she is, but she's a person and she's not trying to hurt me or my friends, so I looooove her.'_ "I _love_ you," he cooed at her, pretending he was talking to a rabbit. This was helping. Vanitas with all his rage was curling up sleepily in his heart; he felt lighter, more clear-headed. Still a bit annoyed and frustrated, but that was okay, he could deal with it, because he was a nice guy. Like ice cream.

Naminé was studying him, her ever-present sketchpad gripped hard in one hand. "I want to apologize again, but I know you'll get mad at me."

"I'm _so_ not mad at you!" he gushed, even though his fingers were curling in irritation. He pressed his fists to his heart, as if trying to drag Ven out and make him do this right. _'It was so _easy_ when I was Ven...just pranced around from world to world, smiling that stupid smile like I was happy, because I _was_ happy, Light shining out of my heart that I didn't even notice because it was so easy, because there was no darkness to hold it back... You walk up to random people, smile and introduce yourself, save them from Unversed, and you're best friends forever. As easy as breathing.'_ He wanted to cry with frustration. _'So, so, so frickin' easy. _Why_ is it so hard now?!'_

She was drawing. What the heck?

"...Okay, well...I guess I'll...leave..."

"This is for you," she said quickly. "I'm almost done."

He tried to not roll his eyes. Naminé drew pictures quickly because her pictures were drawn with all the talent of a five-year-old. "I can't wait."

He took out his weapon again and switched Keychains, turning it from the Oblivion model to Bond of Flame. _'Bond of flame...tied down to the people you love so you can't escape, so you can't ever be free again because you're _always worried_ about them, and they're always cleaning up your messes and being disappointed in you and trying to turn you into a decent human being even though it's freaking useless since you already know you can never, ever make them happy, because the best side of you is gone forever, half-drowned in darkness I can never get rid of no matter how hard I try...Ven, I want you back, I want to _be_ you again, and not...me...'_

"Here it is."

Ventus sighed and plucked the sketchpad out of her hand to look at her crayon scribbles. His eyes widened as he stared at the picture of...himself. Ven and Vanitas, hands clasped, eyes closed in relief at their reunion, the brighter figure's white wings curled protectively over the darker figure...

_"I need you, I need you, I miss you so much I'm dying without you come back to me come back to me _come back to me_..."_

_"I've been running away all this time. And I've been...so afraid. Not of you, but of what...I'll become...if I take you back. I'm afraid of the pain, the fear, the loneliness, the...emptiness. But that's what you feel all the time, isn't it, Vanitas. It's what you were named for, what our dark master cursed you with."_

_"I need you! I need you! I...!"_

_"I have to...accept that...you're me. That turning my back on you means turning my back on myself."_

_"I've been missing you...so much... Sora filled the empty place in your heart where I used to be...but...I have nothing...I have _nothing_...!"_

_"Terra and Aqua, Mickey and Sora and even Lea, Mom, everyone...none of them abandoned me. I'm not gonna abandon you, either. We have to make things right. Come back to me."_

_"Come back to me...!"_

He was on his knees, crying, hands rigid around the piece of paper like it was made of delicate glass, his eyes too blurred with tears to see, but the image still glowing in his mind. He'd never been to his heart-pillar since then, but he knew that the image he cradled in his hands was the same image captured in that stained glass.

Naminé was crouched before him, staring in dismay. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean- I just wanted-"

"Shut up!" He seized her arm and surged back to his feet, dragging her up with him, and began to march off through the trees. _'Let go of her arm,'_ he thought at himself,_ 'let go of her, you're hurting her, you're not supposed to hurt people anymore, _let go_, who _cares_ if she runs away, it's not like you wanted her around in the first place, let _go_, idiot.'_ He let go of her arm. She didn't run away. She stumbled after him as quickly as she could, trying to keep up.

"Your shoes are stupid!" he barked at her.

"They're hard to walk in," she agreed miserably, and he swept her into his arms. "Thank you..."

"Don't thank me! Buy new shoes when you get home!"

"All right. I'm sorry, Ventus."

"DON'T APOLOGIZE TO ME!" _'After what I did to the worlds, to so many people, no one should ever have to apologize to me ever, ever again. And I'm yelling at a girl who didn't do anything wrong.'_ "I'm a jerk!"

He nearly stumbled when she kissed his cheek. "Ventus," she said, so softly that he had to concentrate on listening, "thank you for carrying me so that I don't hurt myself trying to walk in the dark. It's very sweet of you. I appreciate it."

"Stop making me cry!" he yelled, and barged on again, hating himself. _'I NEED YOU, VEN! MAKE THIS EASY AGAIN!'_

He put her down at the edge of the clearing, still in the shadow of the forest but with the little bridge clearly visible. "Ohhh," Naminé exclaimed, "there's their little cottage! You brought me to the dwarfs, Ven?"

_'Don't yell. DON'T YELL.'_ "You said you wanted to see them," he said tightly, and winced when she kissed his face again.

"I _do_ want to see them. Thank you so much for helping me, Ven."

_'Do. Not. Yell.'_ He swallowed hard. "You're welcome." He looked down awkwardly at the sketchpad still clutched in one hand, flipping it closed so he wouldn't have to look at the portrait of himself that had...given him so many feelings. _'Afraid of _feelings_, Ven?'_ he thought angrily at himself. _'Afraid of a few memories? You really are a loser.'_ He pushed the sketchpad toward her, and she took it diffidently.

"Ventus...I didn't mean to upset you. It was supposed to be a gift, but if you don't want it, I understand."

"I want it," he said past the lump in his throat.

She smiled. She had a pretty smile. Not as dazzling as Kairi's or as breathtaking as Xion's, but it was a nice smile and made him feel a bit more like Ven. He relaxed a little.

"I'm glad." She carefully tore out the picture and handed it over. He avoided looking at it, but held it close to his body in a protective way.

"...Thanks for the picture."

"Thank you for helping me so much, I'd still be lost in the woods if it wasn't for you."

"Shoes," he mumbled, "you need better ones if you're going to be tromping around in the dark." He turned away before he had to hear her voice again, and headed for Destiny Islands.

o.o.o.o.o

He landed, deliberately, in the ocean, so that he'd have to swim the rest of the way. Surging through the water, finishing the task of tiring out his muscles that he had been unable to complete in the dark forest, it cleared the rest of his head and left him satisfactorily exhausted.

When it got too shallow to swim comfortably, he stood up and trudged past the waterline, pausing by a group of children who were staying out late, trying to finish their sand castle. One boy, must have been from out of town, gave him a vague look; the other boy crouched frozen, staring up at Ventus fearfully; the girl spread her arms protectively and glared at him. "Go away! You're a bad man!"

Ventus grinned. They should know better than to bait him like this, especially when they were so very, very weak and helpless. He made a sudden movement as if to crush the castle; he wanted to do it _so badly_, and had to work hard to just leave it as a feint.

"NO!" the girl shrieked, and her brother gave a huge gasp as if he was about to cry. Their out-of-town friend was starting to look alarmed.

"If I'm sooo bad," Ventus teased, "then I ought jump on your castle 'til it's nothing but a bunch of footprints."

Now the boy really was crying. The little girl put her hands on Ventus's stomach as if to push him away. "Mama said you're bad and to stay away from you cuz you hurt people and break things and steal! Ms. Lulu said you can be nice and to give you a chance, but she's wrong, cuz you're nothing but mean, mean, mean!"

There was a sudden flaring ache in Ventus's heart at the sound of the name. Lulu was nothing to him but an old acquaintance now, but to hear that she still supported him, even though they'd barely spoken to each other since his return; that she, amongst all the hostile villagers, still believed in him...

He whirled away without a word and marched home.

His mother was hard at work in the kitchen. Ventus started to come in to kiss her hello, but then caught sight of the tray of clams on the counter and hurriedly tried to veer back out.

Of course she caught him before he could escape. "Ven!"

He flinched, then stuck his hands in his pockets and turned back to her with one of his Vanitas grins. "Hi, Mom."

"Perfect timing. Come shuck these clams for me."

"...What if I say no?"

"Then you won't eat here," she said briskly, "and if you run off to steal or beg something, you won't sleep here, either."

These days, ever since coming back home, he seemed to get tired of the fighting pretty quickly. Yes, he dragged his heels when it came to housework, out of habit; but he also had an uncomfortable awareness of his parents' love that he'd lacked as a child, and striving with them was disheartening in a way he'd never used to notice. He gave up and went over to kiss her cheek as he'd originally planned, and she put down the chopping knife to turn and wrap her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. "You're so big," she whispered.

"I knoooowww, Mom. You tell me that, like, three times a week."

She just kept squeezing him, then finally pulled back and fussily pushed at locks of his hair with her fingertips, as an excuse so she could gaze at his face.

He submitted quietly, gazing back in return. So many long, dark years, where he'd missed her so much and had never seen her and had almost forgotten her, and now here she was again, a figment of his past brought to life, yet so warm and solid and _real_ that he couldn't keep believing she was just a memory... "I love you," he said, so softly that he could barely hear himself.

She kissed his forehead. "I love you, too, sweetheart. Every day, I thank God you've come back to me."

He shook his head. "Guess you still haven't realized that your life's taken a turn for the worse, _again_..." He was startled when she gripped his face.

"I love you more than you love yourself," she said sternly. "Deal with it."

He yanked his face out of her hand before she could see the tears in his eyes.

"How's Roxas?" she asked, picking up the knife again and gesturing with her head at the clam tray.

Ventus sighed and trudged over to the counter to start shucking. "How should I know? I never see him."

"Well, you _should_! He's family, and when you've got that flying skateboard thing that lets you travel to whatever worlds you like-"

"It's not a flying skateboard, Mom. It's a _Keyblade_."

"It's flat, you stand on it, and it flies."

He sighed again, though he was grinning a little this time. "Whatever. I don't feel like skateboarding to stupid Radiant Garden all the time just to see some kid I barely know." _Xion_, now, he'd like to see more often, but it was such a pain having to put up with the three guys every time he went there, he had to be careful about what sort of mood he was in. Xion got mad at him when he got into boss battles and made Lea late for work and distracted Isa away from studying and ticked off Roxas so he wasn't 'fun' anymore.

"He's your _family_!" It was kind of funny how she never quite knew how to refer to Roxas - to all of them, actually; these Nobodies and replicas, linked so strongly by bizarre, complicated bonds that neither of their languages had a specific name for. "If you're not comfortable around him, just _talk_ to him! Get to know him!"

"Talk about _what_? The only thing we have in common are Keyblades and skateboarding. Every time I go there, all they want me to do is leave again."

"Now, honey, I know that is not true. Xion likes you, and I've _seen_ you get along perfectly fine with that Lea man."

"You just don't get it, Mom." Roxas had always had his own family, he had never belonged to the Islands. Just because he was the Nobody-turned-Somebody of Ventus's adoptive brother didn't mean he was any more interested than Ventus was in being twins or whatever people expected them to be.

"Do you _always_ have to contradict everything I say?"

Ventus realized, with mild surprise, that that was exactly what he had been doing. Again. "...I went to Dwarf Woodlands today," he said, trying to change the subject to something, _anything_ happy. Not that raging in the dark woods was exactly happy, but he could make it sound so while talking to his mother.

"Really? You like that place, don't you."

"I guess... I was fighting Heartless and stuff."

"You seem to enjoy it," she said, half-questioning.

He smiled a little. "Yeah... Sort of. It's fun to..." _'To hit things when I'm mad.'_ "I like feeling like I'm not being useless."

"I'm glad to hear you're being so helpful to your brother and his friends," she said warmly.

_'And not wasting my life like the unemployed loser I am, you mean?'_ "It's just a way to kill time."

"Darling," she said, and at her tone, he paused to give her a wary look. "What is it you're waiting for?"

"Huh?"

She wiped her hands and came over to him. "Ven, my love," she said softly. "I don't mind you living here - I _like_ having you back. I'm so glad to finally be reunited with both my precious sons."

"Pleeeaaase don't get mushy."

"I'm just wondering what you're- Ven...I don't mind waiting as long as it takes, but what are you waiting _for_? Why are you 'killing time'? Killing time until what?"

Ventus's eyes widened as he tried and failed not to think about it. _'Killing time...just...stalling. Waiting until I die.'_ He wasn't a kid anymore, but he was still so young. So many long, long, pointless, empty years left to live. _'I'm hiding,'_ he realized, and immediately shied away from the thought, angry because he knew it was true. _'Xehanort's dead, he's dead, he can't do anything to me anymore and I'll _kill_ him if he does, but...I...'_

He looked down at the knife in his hand and toyed with the thought of using it for something other than clams, of using a sharper knife that could actually get the job done, yet knowing that all these freaking _people_ surrounding him now like a net would never, ever let him escape for good. Knowing that he didn't have the heart to truly go through with it, anyway. _'So, so, so weak, Ven...'_ Too traumatized to live, not broken enough to die, this truly was some sort of twilit half-life, and he couldn't imagine it going on forever, just as he couldn't imagine living any other way.

Yet...what else could he do? _'I don't want to _do_ anything. There's no one left to punish except Heartless. There's no one to chase, no one to miss, no one to escape from. I'm...just...here. Home again. Where's it's safe. Because there's nothing to run away from, and nothing left to fight...the darkness is _inside me_, where I can't reach it.'_

He clenched a fist over his heart. _'Getting you back was supposed to be my Happily Ever After. But I'm _still_ miserable, and I was miserable when I was Ven and I was miserable when I was Vanitas, and I was miserable before I was either of you, and I've _never been happy_ my entire life, have I.'_ "I miss Chocolate," he found himself unexpectedly whispering.

"Ohh..." She touched a hand to his back, and he braced his hands against the counter and bowed his head so he wouldn't pull away. "Sweetheart - are you ready for-?"

"No! I don't want another dog, I _told_ you!" Clams finished, he threw the knife down beside the tray and stormed out of the kitchen.

Sora was holed up in his room, looking as miserable as he was capable of being. "Veeeeeen," he gasped in relief, tossing down the textbook and holding out his arms as if he expected Ventus to sail into them and glomp him or something. "Save me!"

Perfect. "All right." Ventus strode over and seized his younger brother in a headlock. "Spar with me."

"Huh? Wait, but-!" Sora squirmed playfully, and their horseplay got rougher as they started using more strength. Their laughter and the noise of things crashing out of place disguised the sound of their mother marching up the stairs.

"ENOUGH, BOYS."

They broke apart guiltily.

"Out, Ven," Sapphique ordered. "Your brother's studying."

"Moooommmm, my brains are turning to _mush_!" Sora wailed pathetically.

Ventus added in a serious tone, "And he has so few of them to begin with, you should let him off the hook now, before he gets even _more_ stupid." He laughed as Sora pounced on his back, and quickly rolled to pin him to the ground; then they froze again when their mother stamped her foot quite close to their heads.

"I am _not playing around_."

"Mom," Sora said in a small voice, "please, I've been studying _all day_, I just need a little, tiny, iiiitty-bitty break..."

"The deal was you study until dinner, and dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes. Just a little longer, Sora."

Sora dropped his head back with a groan. "Man, _Ven_ doesn't have to study..."

"The circumstances are different," Sapphique said tightly. "You chose to drop out of school in order to save the world, which is _fine_, but now that the world is saved, you have got to earn your HSE certificate if you don't want to spend the rest of your life laboring in minimum-wage, dead-end jobs."

"Or I could just kill Heartless for...forever," Sora grumbled.

Sapphique rolled her eyes. "Sora, Riku's already earned his, and Kairi managed to run around with you on your last mission _and_ graduate with her class. Don't you want to catch up to your friends?"

"Riku and Kairi are smarter than me," Sora pouted. "_They_ can ace school, and _I_ can make friends and chase off darkness."

"Failed~" Ventus sing-songed, raising a hand as if to point out the darkness he himself still struggled with almost constantly. "I think your darkness-routing skills need some work."

Sora grinned and suddenly flipped on top of him so that their positions were reversed. "_You_ don't count, bro. You're just normal human again, like everyone else."

Ventus stared at him. Then he gestured a Hareraiser into existence. His mother squeaked in alarm and backed up a few steps. "...Normal humans don't make monsters of darkness out of thin air."

"They don't split themselves in half to finish off evil madmen with an awesome Twins of Light & Darkness move, either," Sora shot back with a grin, making Ventus blush a little as he remembered the little trick he'd somehow pulled off during the final battle.

It had been so _weird_ - and cool - briefly splitting apart of his own choice, beholding himself from two sets of eyes, sharing an identical grin with someone whose thoughts and heart and blood beat in perfect unity with his own, able to fight as one mind in two bodies until the man who'd hurt him/them so very much had been destroyed...it _had_ been awesome, but he hadn't been able to bear it for long, feeling so exposed. Seeing and feeling the pure light in his heart who was nothing like he could ever aspire to be; seeing the very worst of himself in concentrated physical form, open to the world's hatred and rejection. He'd rejoined again as soon as he could, shivering as his two halves resettled together, hiding his shame and weakness again. The Ven he could never be and the Vanitas he could never escape. He didn't want people to see them ever again. It was a pain and a pleasure he would only relive in memory.

"Somebody's angsting again~" Sora teased, prompting Ventus to renew the wrestling match until they both heard the bedroom door slam and the knob rattle as something was shoved against it to keep them locked in.

Sora gulped. "I think we're gonna miss dinner. And I'll be stuck here for hours and hours and hours, instead of just fifteen minutes." He grimaced at his desk.

"Hmph." Ventus summoned his Keyblade.

"Ven! We can't break out of here!"

"We can break out of here _easy_." He pointed his weapon at the doorknob.

"Veeeennn, it's cheating. Don't be a cheater."

"I'm not a cheater!"

"Stay and help me study, then. Maybe Mom'll let us out to eat if she hears us being good."

Ventus rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Twenty minutes later, Ventus, sprawled on the floor in a bored pose, was reading from a list of vocabulary words. "Autobiography."

Sora's brow was furrowed in concentration. "One of them is the, the true story of a real person's life written by that person, the other one is written by someone else..." There was a pause. "Which is which?!"

"_You_ tell _me_!"

"Aaahhh, I don't know!" Sora eyed the Hareraiser, which had been slapping him with one of its ears every time he got a wrong answer. He'd have killed it ten minutes ago, but he refrained, knowing that it physically hurt his brother every time an Unversed was damaged or destroyed. Not that Ventus ever batted an eyelid, but...Sora could sense it a little, too. Not even the restoration of Ventus's heart could fully sever the close bond that had formed between him and Sora over the long years they'd spent together.

Sora drew in a deep breath. "Biography is...written by...other people...and _auto_biography is...written by...the person it's...about?" He shut his eyes and cringed in preparation for the blow.

"YES!" Ventus yelled, tossing the list in the air. "Finally!" He waved his hand and dismissed the Unversed.

"I got it right?!" Sora cried in astonishment, kneeling up and staring at his brother.

"Yes! About _time_!"

"I GOT IT RIIIIIIGHT!" Sora stopped in mid-crow when he finally noticed that the door was open, and his mother was leaning against the doorframe.

Ventus frowned and craned his head so he could see her, too. "What?" he said defensively.

A little smile was playing around her mouth. "I love seeing you two together..."

"Don't get mushy!" Ventus surged out of the room like a trapped cat making a dash for freedom.

Sora stayed on his knees, bringing his hands back down to the floor and gazing beseechingly at his mother. "Please, pleeeeaaaase, Mom, I studied, please let me eat...?"

Sapphique laughed. "You look just like Ven when you use those Puppy Eyes... Come on, love, help me set the table."

"YES! I LOVE YOU!"

After dinner, the liberated Sora took off for the beach so fast that even Ventus had to struggle to keep up with him. "Slow down, moron!"

"Beeeaaaccchhhh!" Sora yelled, like a starving man making a beeline for food.

Ventus couldn't help laughing when they hit the waterline and Sora, splashing forcefully ahead, accidentally sprayed ocean water in his face. "She really did keep you cooped up all day..."

They swam and horsed around for a while, then settled down as Sora got calmer and were actually having a serious conversation as they tread water, until Sora let out a yelp and disappeared underwater with no warning.

"Whoa!" Ventus plunged down and then let out a silent cry of exasperated outrage when he saw the third figure pulling Sora down. There was a struggle, then a blinding flash of several Keyblades being summoned, and all three young men finally burst out of the water, laughing and yelling.

"_Riku_! That was SO not fair!"

"Didn't Master Yen Sid tell you to never let your guard down, Sora?" the older boy teased.

"We're in the middle of the _ocean_!"

Ventus, too impatient to think of what to say, simply swung his Keyblade toward Riku's head, and it turned into a three-way mini boss battle.

The sound of girls' laughter finally drew them back to the beach, where Kairi and Naminé were watching from lounge chairs.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed happily, running over to greet them.

"Hi, Sora," Kairi said warmly.

As he threw himself down on the sand beside her to chat, Ventus gave Naminé a wary look.

She smiled at him. "You look like you're feeling better."

"I'm _fine_," Ventus grumbled.

She reached for the ice chest nearby and rummaged through it. "Do you guys want something to drink?"

Ventus and Riku accepted the sodas she handed them, though Riku soon pointed out that they needed to search for wood pretty quickly if they wanted to get a fire started before the sun finished setting. "Come on, Sora. Don't even try to get out of the work this time, I know all your tricks."

"I wasn't! I'll help!"

It was nice, hanging out with them. Ventus did feel just a little like an outsider, a grown man hanging out with two pairs of teenagers, but not enough to really be bothered. Everyone was acting more like a group of friends than like couples, hanging out on the beach together, talking as the stars came out.

The girls did get cold, in their ridiculous skirts that were too short for a windy night on the beach, and of course the other two guys attempted to be gentlemanly. "Uh...sorry it doesn't have any sleeves," Riku mumbled as he put his jacket around Naminé.

"It's all right," she said, smiling up at him even though she was still visibly shivering.

Ventus rolled his eyes. "Here." He worked the towel he'd been lounging on out from under his body and tossed it over.

"Th-Thank you, Ventus."

"I was gonna laugh at Riku for not having sleeves," Sora said unhappily, "but mine's not very warm, either..."

Kairi giggled, buttoning the short-sleeved jacket around herself. "It's okay, Sora. Getting to see you guys shirtless is worth it."

Ventus rolled over so that his bare chest was hidden against the sand, and pouted when Kairi laughed again.

"Did you ever find the dwarfs' cottage, Naminé?" Riku asked as he reached for another marshmallow to toast.

"Oh! Yes, I did - Ventus helped me find it, actually."

"You went to Dwarf Woodlands today?" Sora said curiously.

Ventus shrugged. "Found some good Heartless there. Made a lot of munny."

"See, I _can_ just beat Heartless for a living," Sora insisted. "Why do I have to take the stupid HSE test?!"

"Come on, Sora, is that what you really _want_ to do?" Kairi said, reaching out to pat his shoulder. "I know you've killed a ton of Heartless, but it's not like it was your life's dream or anything."

"I don't even have a life's dream..."

"What about item synthesis? I thought you said you were gonna talk to the Moogles about joining their guild."

"Well, yeah, I will once I get a chance to _breathe_..."

"The HSE test isn't that hard," Riku said, poking at the slightly singed marshmallow. "Pretty much the same as the standardized tests they'd give us every year in school."

"I always flunked those!"

"You can do it, Sora," Naminé said encouragingly. "We'll help you any way we can."

"Great!" Ventus snorted. "So I guess you're a licensed brain transplant surgeon, then?"

"Hey!" Sora yelled. "I don't really get it, but I can tell you just insulted me!"

"Whatcha gonna do about it?" Ventus challenged, and then they were fighting again, just the way he liked it. Not trying to kill each other, but not holding back, either; both grinning wildly, enjoying the burst of energy.

"Get away from the marshmallows!" Riku yelled, picking a ruined one out of the sand to hurl at them. It actually got impaled on a spike of Ventus's hair for a second before being knocked back off.

"Nice shot, Riku!" Kairi laughed. She tied a length of seaweed into a ball and aimed it at Sora.

The brothers returned home late, and crept quietly through the dark house so as not to disturb their sleeping parents. Ventus threw himself down on his bed, sandy mess and all, while Sora went to rinse off in the shower and brush his teeth. He peeked into Ventus's room before he went to bed. "Good night, Ven."

"Night."

After a pause, Sora came in and hugged him.

"Ugh, get off..." Ventus grumbled, though he made no move to resist.

"Ven," Sora whispered, "it's really cool to have you back with us."

"Mm." Hesitantly, Ventus lifted a hand to rest against his brother's spiky chestnut locks. "Sora...thanks again...for everything."

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat," Sora said, smacking a kiss against Ventus's temple as if they were little kids.

"Ugh, seriously, cut it _out_!"

Sora laughed and patted his shoulder before heading off to his own room. Ventus was left to close his eyes again and lie there, drifting slowly back toward the edge of sleep...

o.o.o.o.o

_Watching like I'm a stranger outside my own body, Ven perched on a tree branch like a bird with huge white wings, Vanitas looking utterly bored, lounging on the other side of the branch with his black wings hanging down on either side of him. They're watching the chicks hatching, Ven's innocent face alight with awe, Vanitas inscrutable, except he's me so I know what he's thinking - how easy it would be to place a thumb right there on the egg and press down hard, hearing the crack of death, feeling the breathless surge of power I have over something so helpless..._

_But it'd be pointless, too, and Ven would get mad, and I only just _finally_ got him to trust me again, so I won't do it. I'll just watch. Sooooo boring. Why are they taking so long, just pop out already._

_"It's so amazing," Ven breathes, like we're watching the most awesome thing in the world. I'm afraid of him, but I'm _not_ Vanitas, I'm me, I'm Ven too, I can edge into his thoughts and he doesn't even notice, because he's me. I can hardly breathe, it's so beautiful, watching those warm living things working so hard and never giving up, slowly but surely being born into this world full of light and wind and music and color..._

_"Forget this," says Vanitas. "I'm gonna go find some Heartless to bust apart." He drops straight off the branch and only opens his wings just in time to stop himself from breaking an ankle on the ground._

_"You're missing it!" we yell after him, but whatever. He is what he is, we can't make him different._

_I blink, and realize it's been so long, and where's Vanitas? Why is it so dark? He left me..._

_I start walking, not sure what I'm walking on 'til I see the stained glass under my feet and we're back in the Dive. Our two figures clasping hands as they sleep, Keyblades crossed as if in salute, I like seeing us together but at the same time it makes my heart ache, like I can still feel the half-healed crack where we were torn apart..._

_Whose heart is this?_

_I look down at my hands - gloves. This familiar, stiflingly tight suit, vision clouded by this helmet... I tear it off so I can see again, and grit my teeth. I didn't want to be Vanitas, but whatever. I just need to find Ven...we need to go find Sora again before we get lost in the maze of stained glass and darkness..._

_"Ven?"_

_How long have I been walking?_

_"Ven-" I summon my Keyblade - the Kingdom Key, what? - and raise it high, trying to call to his light with my own._

_Light flashing so I can't see, surrounding us - me - who am I? - and making my skin tingle with slightly electric warmth, what the heck why am I naked? As soon as I realize that I'm suddenly wearing a dress, and I get mad and force the dream to give me some real clothes._

_Dream?_

_I'm dreaming..._

_Who am I? Ven, Vanitas, or someone else? I can't be...Sora, can I...? Tangled up in his heart for so long, oh God what if we've got pieces of each other mixed up and we can't ever- "VEN!"_

_I'm running again, throw the Keyblade away from me because it's Bond of Flame now and it doesn't make any _freaking sense_. "Ven! Ven! VEN! I need you!"_

_Flap my wings - wings? Do I have wings? Not a second ago, but I do now, I guess, but it's still too bright and I can't tell if they're white or black. I can hear Vanitas breathing down my neck as he chases me and I yell at him to go away._

_"Can't, Little Wind. Cuz I _am_ you, heh."_

_Of course I am. Eyes burning gold, no one's chasing me except memories, no, Unversed, with all their pain and grief and terror- "GET AWAY FROM ME!" I want Ven, need him so bad, but I can't find him and I have to fight. I whirl with a Keyblade in my hand again, refuse to see which shape it has, freaks me out that I'm wielding it reverse grip so a second Keyblade appears in my other hand and that one's the right way up, okay, I can do this._

_Hurts to destroy the Unversed, more than if I was Ven but not nearly as much as if I was Vanitas. Am I Sora, or what? The weapons in my hand are Oathkeeper and Oblivion._

_This is a dream, Kaz__é__. Remember? You can choose what happens._

_Unversed gone in a rush of wind, standing on a quiet beach under the night sky, sand crumbling beneath my bare toes. I don't look down to see who I am until I've already imagined myself wearing a pair of blue jeans and a gray T-shirt, something _any_ of us could be wearing. There's a silver chain around my neck like Sora's, but the pendant's tucked out of sight and I don't pull it out to see what shape it is._

_"Xion?" I try. But it's Kairi laughing on the beach, four years old, running off in the distance like a ghost, with baby ghosts Sora and Riku running alongside her. They're talking about coconuts, and then they disappear. Roxas is standing on the beach, holding a bucket so Xion can put seashells in it, but they keep blurring like holograms, and when I reach out to touch them, they disappear._

_"VEN."_

_Now it's just dark. No stained glass at all, just dark, dark._

_For a minute, I think I can feel a Gummi ship's controls in my hands, but a huge Heartless swirls into view and opens its gigantic mouth and swallows the ship whole._

_I can't move at all, curled up like a fetus in an egg prison, soft wings brushing over my skin and my mother's voice whispering to me...a distant bark I recognize, an old woman telling me I'm a good conversationalist...I scream and thrust out my arms and legs and I'm falling through the Caverns of the Dead in the Underworld, no no NO I'm not dead Mom help me Sora Aqua Terra Xion VEN, freaking Roxas, Merlin, Master Freaking Eraqus, Braig, I don't care who; just please _someone help me_..._

o.o.o.o.o

Ventus was out of the house before he even fully awakened, flinging his Keyblade into Glider mode, leaping onto it, dashing for the Lanes Between.

The journey was long enough for him to clear his head a bit, but once the terror and fury faded, it went to tears, and he was disgusted and exasperated with himself but he finally gave up, and came stumbling into the Land of Departure half-blinded and wanting to beat something up.

Aqua twitched and shifted in her sleep when the bedroom door banged open, and was starting to open her eyes when Ventus seized her shoulders and screamed into her face, "Get up before I kill you!"

"Put on s'more clothes," she said sleepily, struggling free of his grip and groping for a bathrobe.

"Gaaaaahhhh!" He swept his Keyblade across a desktop, sending the items there cascading to the floor.

"_Not_ here, Ven," Aqua snapped, suddenly wide awake. "Wait just a _few seconds_ for me to grab some Commands-"

His next blow was aimed at the bookcase, and Aqua impatiently shot a spell at him. Encased helplessly in a block of ice, Ventus watched her for a second, then started to struggle as best he could. He wasn't able to escape before she was fully ready, and she seized his arm as soon as he was free and hurled him straight out her open window. Senses blazing with alertness, Ventus summoned his Glider and flipped around to land on it with steady footing. His lips stretched in a wild grin - that was the nice thing about Aqua - she could tell when he needed to play rough, and wasn't afraid to act on it.

At the top of the mountain, he leaped off the Glider and hit the ground running, whirled with his Keyblade flashing in his hand, blocked Aqua's heavy strike with a clash that hurt his arms.

"Are you going to _tell_ me what happened first, or am I going to have to wait to figure out what's going on until you're an exhausted mess?" she asked.

He always got in trouble for saying _I hate you_, even when it obviously wasn't true, so he screamed "I hate everything!" and swung again.

As usual, he stuck to physical attacks, trying to beat the nightmare out of his mind, but she had no qualms about relying heavily on magic. He was frozen, burned, electrocuted, sparkled, and still the rage and terror kept him going, beating at her whirling graceful form and beating and beating until one of his strikes finally connected.

As usual, he hadn't been expecting it. They always concentrated on defense when he got like this, letting him vent while using most of their strength to protect themselves so that it felt impossible to land a hit. But it was always just a matter of time, and even though Aqua's wince, grunt, and stumble were very slight and she was steady again the next instant, Ventus froze, horrified that he had actually hurt her.

"Ready for more?" she said in a jeering tone, compassionately trying to antagonize him in case he wasn't finished yet.

He burst into tears and attacked again, but his will to fight was gone now, and she quickly disarmed him. He didn't even watch his Keyblade go sailing off but collapsed to his knees on the grass, screaming out the pain in his heart and blinded by tears. He sensed her hovering, unsure whether his transition was complete or not. It wasn't, and her hovering provoked him; he dove at her legs and she kicked him aside before he could damage flesh, dropping to her knees and seizing his hair before he could recover. "Sweet rain, you're down to 10%," she murmured. "Ven, love-"

"Don't touch me!" he screamed, craving her touch. From the way he didn't struggle, she sensed it, too, and relaxed her grip in order to slide her palm across his tense back.

"Ventus," she said, in a stern tone to compensate for the caress, "it's not very fun to get dragged out of bed at two in the morning."

The angry protest died on his lips and he slumped, crying even harder. She was finally able to embrace him as she'd probably wanted to do all along, pulling his now limp body into her arms as if he was a small child. He nestled against her like a child, too, the need for violence finally exhausted, able to relax and grieve freely and accept her comfort. "I couldn't...find him...I can't find Ven...I can't find Ven..."

"In your dream?" she murmured.

He lifted his arms to clutch at her. "We were together...but then he left...I couldn't find him..."

"It's all right, Ven," she assured him, starting to rock soothingly.

"Don't - call me Ven! Ven's gone, I'm not your precious Ven..."

She kissed his temple and he closed his eyes. "He's still there, sweetheart. He's always there, because he's you. That's why you think you can't find him, dearest, because he's already there."

"I'm not Ven," Ventus wailed, pulling away and pressing his hands over his face. He flinched when a blanket was placed around his shoulders. He clutched it tightly around himself and glared up at the barefoot, pajama-clad man who'd put it on him. "I'm not cold."

"Well, _I_ am," Terra said easily, putting a blanket around Aqua, as well, who thanked him with a smile; then himself. He sat down, scooting close until Ventus felt safe, closed in between them. "The days are warm, but it gets chilly after the sun goes down."

"Weakling," Ventus muttered, still huddling in the blanket.

"Ven, stop insulting someone who's trying to help you, unless you're ready for Round 2," Aqua said. "And yes, I'm calling you Ven, because that's who you've always been to me, and that's who you still are."

"_Veeen_ wouldn't come barging in at two in the morning trying to kill you," Ventus said resentfully. "He was _so_ perfect and sweet and freaking loveable. I'm not Ven. We were watching the birds hatch together and then he went off, except I think it was Vanitas who left first but then I _was_ Vanitas and I couldn't find Ven...all the wrong Keyblades, like I got mixed up with Sora and Roxas and Xion, too..."

He drew in a shaky breath. "There's no way I can ever be Ven. I _can't do it_, it's too hard. The only, only, only time I was _ever_ able to be good and nice was when I was Ven, but now he's just me and I _knew_ freaking Vanitas would drag me back and he _does_, I can't do it anymore..."

"You're doing fine, Ventus," Aqua said softly. "It's hard for everyone to be good. Everyone, not just you."

"People don't look at _you_ and start closing curtains and pulling their kids away, like you're some kind of rabid dog!"

"They judge you based on your past," Terra sighed. "You can't blame them, Ven... When they've _seen_ you do terrible things, of course they're gonna be on their guard, even if you came back wanting to help."

Ventus's retort died unspoken when he saw the sadness on his friend's face and realized that Terra knew exactly what it was like, too. He leaned his head on Terra's shoulder. "So what, then? Just give up and go find a new world where no one knows you?"

Terra smiled a little. "Just do your best, Ven. Even if it's hard and they hate you, don't give up. There's always someone somewhere who still loves you and believes in you, someone who can see the light in your heart even when you can't see it yourself."

Ventus slowly released the edges of the blanket and pressed his hands over his own heart. "The light in my heart...I guess it's still in there..."

"Of course it is," Aqua said affectionately. "Light is always stronger than darkness - your light can't ever be snuffed out, Ven. It's part of you, it's who you _are_."

"Then why can't I feel him anymore?" Ventus asked, tears pricking his eyes. "I _try_ to talk to him, ask him what he would do, but he never answers me, and I never know what to do even though I _know_ he does..." _'It makes me feel so alone.'_ Except that he didn't feel alone now, with Terra and Aqua so close.

"What, does Vanitas answer you, then?" Terra asked curiously.

Ventus grimaced. "I don't know. I try not to talk to him." He sighed. "Everything was so _easy_ when I was Ven, I didn't even think about it. Now, it's like..._every time_ I talk to someone, even look at someone, I have to figure out what the right thing to do is. And it's hard and sometimes I don't _want_ to stop and think, and I keep screwing up and everyone gets so mad at me. I hate it. I wanna get rid of Vanitas again, I don't _want_ him screwing up my life! I _knew_ he'd drag me down if I took him back, but I took him back anyway because it was the right thing to do and he was hurting so much, but now _I'm_ the one hurting and I _liked_ not being so scared and mad all the time, but now I'm stuck with him again and I'm scared and mad again and I _hate being me_..."

"Well, just trying to escape the darkness isn't going to work in the long run. You have to face it and actually deal with it, Ven."

"I don't want to," he pouted.

"What is it you're even scared of?" Terra wondered. "Xehanort's gone, he can't come back. We made sure of that."

"It's not _Xehanort_, geez."

Ventus lay down with his head in Aqua's lap and had to think about it for a long time. Then when he finally decided what it was all about, he didn't want to tell them, it was so stupid. _'I'm afraid of being abandoned...locked in the dark for so long, stomach twisting with hunger... I'm afraid of having a new mom, what if she doesn't like me, I don't know the rules, I don't know how to make her love me, I'm terrified every time she gets angry... I'm afraid of the kids at school with their hostile eyes, of no one respecting me, no one thinking I'm worth anything; I'm afraid of losing what little I have that's precious to me, I'm afraid that the few people who love me will turn their backs and leave me like she did, will be torn away from me like they were, it's all my fault, if I hadn't been so stupid, it's all my fault...'_ "I'm done talking," he finally choked out, clutching hard at Aqua's robe. "I'm not talking. I'm not talking. Go away. I don't want you here. I want to be by myself." _'Leave now while I'm telling you to, so it won't hurt as much as you leaving when I'm not expecting it.'_

"Well, you know," Terra remarked, gently touching Ventus's clenched fist, "I don't think we could leave even if we wanted to, the way you're holding us back..."

Ventus let out a dry sob, but couldn't make himself let go.

"Ven," Aqua said, "do you want us to leave? Do you _truly_ want us to leave? Or do you want us to stay? Because if you want us to stay, we will stay."

There was a long pause.

"Yes," Ventus finally whispered, because that's what Ven would have said. "I want you to stay. I _need_ you. If you leave me, I'll die."

Aqua stooped to kiss his temple. "You won't die, love. You're very strong. But yes, of course we'll stay."

"As long as you need us," Terra added, patting his back.

Ventus smiled a little and relaxed. They eventually returned to the castle and fell asleep together on the living room floor and couches, and when Ventus awakened a few hours later, both of his best friends were still there, just as they'd promised they'd be.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: **In the final drafts of both this and **_**Before Sora**_**, I'm debating about whether to just make Lulu a random OC, since I don't feel comfortable using her. :/**

**If you notice Ventus's angst being a little contradictory at times, that was purposeful. XD**

**"HSE" stands for "High School Equivalency."**

**"Kaze" is the Japanese word for "wind." In my headcanon, Xion started calling Vanitas that sometimes so she wouldn't have to keep labeling him as 'empty.'**

The story was _supposed_ to just be that last scene with the BBS trio, in which case I'd intended to launch another series (not for a theme challenge or anything) focused on Terra, Aqua, Ven, & sometimes Vanitas. However, I felt like I needed to lead up to the scene rather than just plunge right in, and of _course_ the characters were screen hogs and talked way too much. Between Naminé, the Destiny trio, and Sapphique (my OC mother of Ven & Sora), I figured this had disqualified itself as a BBS trio fic, so I decided to put it in the _After the Battle_ series instead. *sweatdrop* (It's also supposed to fit fairly well with the AkuSaiRokuShi-focused BbF&ML stories.)

I started writing this story very spontaneously, because I was talking about VenVan with my friends and did not have time to properly express my feels, so I wrote a fanfic instead. XD (It took longer than I thought to finish, though. DX) I may be able to clearly and thoroughly articulate my opinions in an essay if I OCD over it enough, but it's in _stories_ that I feel like I'm better expressive and can convey the heart of the information best. Plus, I feel like I can just write a story and be done with it, rather than repeating myself over and over again in scattered mini-essays and rants. :/

_Vanitas' Love Story_ by SorasPrincesss got me hooked, and since then, platonic VenVan's become one of my OTPs, and my favorite KH pairing that's unrelated to my OT4. It's so deeply meaningful to me, I LOVE all the thematic stuff they've got going on in their relationship, and...whatever; I just wrote a fic attempting to express it, I don't need to try to re-create the explanation in an essay. XD

**Poor Aqua...no one should be forced the read minds the way she's forced to read Ventus's here. :/ But she puts up with it because he's her baby and she loves him... (Ftr, not **_**everyone**_** means the opposite of what they say, and even when they do, it's not consistent. You really do have to know them intimately enough to be able to read their minds, and there's probably some times when it's more productive to not even bother and to try to just cut to the heart of the matter, but... I think what I'm trying to say is that I was going more for exploring thematic issues rather than a practical demonstration of counseling methods or whatever. ...I'm not making sense, am I. orz)**

**The thing about Vanitas feeling the physical pain of his Unversed is from the novels, I didn't come up with it.**

I really wanted this whole fic to be platonic love...honestly, there are some couples in here, but I tried to at least leave room for platonic interpretations. :/

"What about item synthesis? I thought you said you were gonna talk to the Moogles about joining their guild." A reference to my fic _Sora's Job Quest_. XD


	8. Don't Tell

Don't Tell

(rough draft)

A Kingdom Hearts fanfic by Raberba girl

Summary: Riku notices something in a BBS cutscene that he hadn't picked up on before.

**A/N: Meta fic. The "Somebodies" that were seen in BBS are all adults here. I assume this takes place during "filming" for KH3.**

o.o.o

The cast of Kingdom Hearts were hanging out in the lounge after work, before having to disperse for the night. Sora, Kairi, Ven, and Luxord were playing Spoons with an increasingly frustrated-looking Vanitas; Demyx was beating Roxas at Guitar Hero; Ienzo and Aqua were arguing over an open book in his arm as he repeatedly stabbed a finger at the open page, trying to underscore his point; and Xion was happily nestled between Lea and Riku on a couch, watching the _Birth by Sleep_ cutscenes that were playing on the huge flat-screen TV that took up most of one wall. Lea kept nodding off, waking with a start every time his head sank too low for comfort, and Riku was lethargically working on homework from the entire year's worth of school he'd missed between _Chain of Memories_ and _Kingdom Hearts II_.

Isa came over at one point. "Lea."

"*snore*"

"Axel," Xion said quickly, shaking her friend before Isa could throw a Lightning Stone at him or something, "Axel, Saïx wants to talk to you."

"'S your dog, feed it yourself," Lea mumbled.

"Wake _up_," Isa snapped, smacking him upside the head.

"_Ow_!"

"Go home if you're so tired."

"No! They don't let me bring any kids..."

"Lea," said Terra, who was standing beside Isa, "we need you to settle something for us."

Lea craned his head to look up at them inquiringly.

Terra gestured at the berserker. "Isa here says that he put up with Xehanort's darkness for almost six years before-"

"Oooh, look, it's me and Riku!" Sora yelled, diving over the back of the couch and half-landing on Riku.

"_Ow_, Sora, what the heck?!"

"You guys are so cuuuuute," Kairi cooed, draping herself over Sora's shoulders as both of them gazed eagerly at the TV, where five-year-old Riku and four-year-old Sora were racing past Terra on the pier.

"Oh, hey, it's me," Terra realized in mild surprise.

"I suppose I win the argument by default," Isa grumbled, seeing that both his opponent and their consultant were now hopelessly distracted.

_"Hey,"_ the little Riku onscreen asked onscreen-Terra, _"Did you come from the outside world?"_

"Ha ha, even as a _kid_ you hated being stuck on the Islands," Sora laughed. "Thanks for starting all our crazy adventures, Riku!"

"...You know, the sad thing is that I can't even tell if you're being sarcastic or not," Riku remarked.

"If you had no adventures, I wouldn't have existed; of course he's not being sarcastic," Roxas said decisively, shoving between Riku and Xion so that he could sit next to his best friends. Riku was now completely squashed between Sora and Roxas, and looked ticked off.

"If either of you could just move your fat butts, like, three centimeters so I can get up..."

_"Must be hard, huh, stuck in one place,"_ onscreen-Terra said.

"Oooh, so it's really _Terra's_ fault," Kairi teased.

"Let's just say it's Xehanort's fault, because everything is," Lea said, "and call it even." This earned an outburst of "Oooooh!"s from some of the teenagers as Xehanort, as if on cue, briefly appeared onscreen in Riku's place.

"What the heck? When did _that_ happen?" the real Riku complained.

"Just this weird vision I had for a second," Terra murmured thoughtfully, "I didn't even have a clue what it meant 'til seeing it again just now."

_"Outside this tiny world is a much bigger one."_

"SEE!" Sora yelled, prompting Kairi to wince and cover her ears, "I'm NOT the only one who blabbed about other worlds and stuff! Terra should get in trouble, too!"

Many of the other characters had come to join them by now. "Breaking the Non-Interference Rule has become rather unavoidable by now," Ienzo mused, "since trying to mend Xehanort's meddling has become all but impossible otherwise..."

"_Just_ Xehanort?" Naminé teased gently, nudging him. "I wouldn't call the rest of Organization XIII blameless, either..."

Onscreen, Terra had summoned his weapon.

"Your Keyblade kind of looks like a chainsaw," Hayner laughed. "Cool."

Everyone watched as onscreen-Terra made little onscreen-Riku a Keyblade Master. "It's soooooooo your fault!" several people laughed, as Terra facepalmed and Riku closed his eyes in exasperation.

"So _that's_ what you were doing while I was waiting all by myself!" Sora yelled, grinning. "Aaaaallll alone! For sooooo long! Because my best friend cared more about leaving the Islands than playing with me-"

"Shut up, Sora."

_"You've gotta keep this a secret, okay?"_

"Wait, what?" Braig laughed.

"Oooohhh," Demyx said mischievously, "some random stranger just told a little kid to keep something a secret from their parents~"

"Wow, Terra," Riku murmured, "in hindsight, that was kind of..."

"Hah! HAH!" Lea yelled. "I'm not the only one!"

"Only one what?" Roxas said warily.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Terra yelped. "I just meant-"

"Didn't your mom ever teach you Don't Talk To Strangers?" Olette teased, elbowing Riku.

"She didn't, actually..." _'If I'd ever gotten kidnapped, she would have expected me to take him apart with my bare hands and bring home his decapitated head as proof of my being worthy to be called a Child of Jenova. Sooooo, good thing nothing ever happened to me as a kid...'_

"Non-Interference Rule! It was the Non-Interference Rule!" Terra insisted desperately. "It was still important back then, it wasn't like it is today..."

"I know," Aqua said soothingly, patting his back. "Just accept the fact that they're never going to stop teasing you about it." She raised her voice, tone shifting to address the rest of them, "This cutscene is supposed to end on a Moment of Heartwarming, BE QUIET."

"Yes, Master Aqua..." was the general good-natured murmuring/grumbling.

Along with a cheekier, "Yes, Master Aqua~"

"_Do I detect sarcasm_?" Aqua said in a deadly voice, summoning her Keyblade as her eyes zeroed in on Demyx.

"Eeep, no, I'll be good, I hate fighting...!"

o.o.o

Author's Notes: I _know_ I'm not the only one who thought this when I saw that scene, because I've seen a comic about it on devART. XD Oh, Terra...

Lol, Infamousplot's the one who's always mentioned how Terra's default Keyblade looks like a chainsaw.

Anyway, I've been brainstorming for the contest prizes I promised to write, and Medli45's had a scene in it that I decided I wouldn't be able to use, but I didn't want to entirely discard it, so I re-worked it into a completely unrelated one-shot instead. Ftr, her prize story is going to be NOTHING like this one; this is sort of like a glorified outtake. ^^;

Btw, in case you guys didn't see my journals and stuff, I'm on AO3 now~ (Username: Raberba_girl)


End file.
